White Cat, Black Cat
by Blue Hurricane
Summary: An AU where Weiss is part Faunus, part Human. Being the first and possibly only one of her kind, she has to live hiding that secret from everyone else. When she enrolls in Beacon, she'll discover things about her birth, as well as what it means to be shunned by the rest of the world for being who, or what, you are.
1. 01 - What am I

**Hello and welcome to a new story! It's another RWBY AU, and this time it's about everyone's favorite heiress. Except, well, she's a little different.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY, or its characters. If I did then Weiss wouldn't be so shor- I mean, nothing.**

**A special thanks to Shadow Nightblade, who encouraged me to actually type and put up this story. Cheers!**

* * *

She had never been afraid of the dark. To her, day and night made no difference; she could see almost as clearly at night as she could in the day. At first, she had believed that everyone else could do the same.

_Who am I?_

"Daddy, I think I can see in the dark."

Her father, swamped with work, merely grunted. She was not sure if he had really heard what she said, and she never did ask him again. It was not long after that that she found out her ability was unique to something called the 'Faunus'.

_What am I?_

"Daddy, where's mommy?"

Again, no response. This time, he definitely heard her, but he had simply chosen to ignore her question. She tried asking her sister the same question, but Winter was just as clueless as she was. She had been disappointed, but above all, she had been so scared. Even though she did not have a tail, an extra set of ears or whiskers, she was still absolutely terrified of what she was.

_Is it alright for me to exist?_

"Sis, I… think I'm a Faunus."

She would never forget the look on her sister's face when she said that. That expression, filled with confusion at her supposedly bad joke, etched itself into her memories as her sister realized she was not kidding around. She knew that Winter was, at that moment, not looking at her own sister anymore.

With eyes drowned in fear and a face transfixed with sheer horror, she was looking at a monster. An animal. An abomination. A freak.

She told her to keep it to herself, and that no matter what happened, she could not let anyone else know. If the world knew the truth, not only would their father lose everything, she would be shunned by the rest of the world for what she was. If the world found out about her secret, she would no longer be able to live a normal life anymore.

From that day onwards, Weiss Schnee never told anyone else about her Faunus nature.

* * *

"Are you sure about this?"

Weiss bit her lip, silently thinking through her reply. She had already given this much thought, and she had arrived at the same conclusion each time. However, Winter's one simple question had caused her determination to waver.

"I know you're more gifted in combat than anyone else in our family," Winter began. "But why a Huntress? What if someone there figures out you're… you know."

"I'll be careful," Weiss replied. Even if it was Winter, she could not tell her the real reason she wanted to go to Beacon. That was something which, like her secret, would never be told. "Besides, my physical abilities might not necessarily be because of my Faunus-"

"Don't say it out loud," Winter cautioned. As much as she had accepted it, it still hurt Weiss sharply whenever her Faunus nature was treated like an unspeakable disease. "Well, if it's your decision I won't object, but I want you to be careful, Weiss. If anything happens to you…"

"I'll be alright, sis," Weiss assured her with a small but convincing smile. "I've managed to keep it under wraps all these years, haven't I?"

Winter considered her words for a few moments, and eventually sighed. Sometimes her little sister could be more stubborn than she ever was.

"I understand," she said. "I'll convince Father. But promise me you'll be careful, Weiss; I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I understand," Weiss replied as her sister pulled her into a soft hug.

Even though the warmth was genuine, and her words were no lie, Winter's affection did nothing for Weiss's heart. All it did was remind her vividly of the image that had been emblazoned into her mind – the image of Winter's expression all those years ago. It could not be helped; after all, Winter was a bona fide human unlike Weiss. For her to fear Weiss was only logical, even if they were sisters.

"I promise," she whispered.

* * *

Blake Belladonna looked on with mild interest as the two girls argued in the huge crater in front of the school. Why there was a crater in the first place was beyond her, but it was an amusing sight to say the least.

She had no idea who the girl in red and black was, but she knew the white-haired one all too well. Regular folk knew her well enough, but for Blake – someone who had once been a part of the widely feared White Fang – she was notorious. Blake herself had lost many comrades to the weapons developed by that wretched company, but she could not let that show; right now, she was a normal human girl, not a trained Faunus soldier.

Picking up the bottle of Dust that had rolled to her feet, she tried to show as little interest as possible as she spoke to them like how a stranger would. She had gone through great lengths to enroll in Beacon pretending to be human; she was definitely not going to screw up and give herself away over some vendetta against Schnee and her family. Even though she still could not help but make a jab at her company's reputation in the end.

As she walked away, Blake inadvertently turned back and glanced at the white-haired girl one more time. She was the greatest enemy to all Faunus, and she was without an ounce of doubt human. There was no reason for Blake to feel anything but hostility towards her, but the Faunus warrior could not help but be intrigued.

She was sure that from Weiss Schnee, she had smelled something very familiar.

* * *

**And there you have the intro chapter. Buncha stuff to set up, so it'll take a while, but hope you stay with me. **

**On a side note, in the early planning stages of this story Weiss was supposed to be secretly the leader of the White Fang, but that got scrapped. Just a little fun fact.**

**And are Blake and Weiss related here? Uh… *looks at title* Uh… I don't know. Weiss and Winter are born from different mothers in this AU, so make a lucky guess.**

**Feel free to leave a comment, and I'll see you next chapter!**


	2. 02 - Even if she's not Perfect

**Welcome to chapter 2! Before we begin, I'm going to answer the question asked by a reviewer about whether there's such a thing as a Half-Faunus: **

**No, I don't think we know what such a pairing would create, and as far as I know Half-Faunus isn't a thing in the RWBYverse. That's why I found it interesting to explore it from a fan's perspective. Hope you're alright with that!**

**And yes, Weiss looks like a normal human, and one of the main reasons was I wanted there to be a stark physical contrast between her and Blake, aside from the color. I'll leave it to your imagination for the other reasons :)**

**Now, without further ado…**

* * *

Weiss stared at her reflection in the mirror, large blue eyes scanning every inch of her body. Some people told her she was too young to be concerned about her figure, even though she was already five – the age where prim and proper Schnee ladies must present themselves as elegant and befitting of their name (according to Winter, anyway).

But Weiss was not concerned about her proportions (yet). She was checking her body to make sure nothing _weird _was growing – no ears on her head, no tail on her butt, and no fur on her skin. She even opened her mouth all wide and unladylike to inspect her teeth, which to her relief were not growing into fangs.

When she found nothing out of the ordinary, she heaved a sigh of relief and finally stepped into the bath. It became something of a ritual for her every day, and sometimes she even performed multiple checks in one day.

Then one time, something unexpected happened during her usual inspection.

"Weiss?" Winter called, knocking on the bathroom door. "What're you doing in there?"

"I-it's impolite to ask a lady what she's doing in the bathroom!" Weiss yelled back, hastily reaching for her clothes.

There was a moment of silence as Winter stopped knocking as well as talking altogether; lady or not, for a five-year-old like Weiss to say something like that was surprising to say the least. It would have been amusing to see the look on Winter's face right then, if not for her current predicament.

Her sister's sudden call had made Weiss panic. She fumbled with her clothes, putting her hand through where her head was supposed to go and stuffing both feet through one pant leg as her palpitations skyrocketed.

What if Winter knew? What if she knew all along and was finally here to… Here to do what, exactly? What was Winter going to do to her?

Hopping about as she desperately tried to get her clothes on right, Weiss tripped and fell, hitting the back of her head on the toilet bowl seat.

"Weiss?!" Winter raised her voice a little, banging her palm on the fine wood of the door. "Weiss?! What's wrong? Did something happen?!"

With all the strength her tiny frame could muster, Weiss held back her tears as she finally got dressed properly. Walking over to the door, she unlocked it and immediately pounced at her sister, wrapping her arms around Winter without a word.

"What's wrong, Weiss?" Winter asked worriedly. "Did you hurt yourself somewhere? What happened?"

"I hit my head," Weiss mumbled into her sister's chest.

But she was not crying. Even though she was just a child, Weiss was not one to cry easily. Everyone else just thought she liked to bottle it all up in an attempt to look strong and mature, all for the sake of presenting herself as a proper Schnee. Maybe she really was that strong all along.

But in truth, she had already cried her tears dry.

All those nights she had tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep, Weiss almost always cried. Lying on her bed and viewing the world clearly despite the lack of illumination, she could not help but be reminded of how abnormal she was. Constantly surrounded by inner voices screaming in her head, berating and jeering at her in equal measure, Weiss would end up crying herself to sleep. After a few months of agonizing torture, she was sure she had run out of tears to cry.

Her grip on her sister's clothes tightened. Her body was shaking from the sheer effort of holding in her tears, simply refusing to comply with her brain's orders. Even her mind was a whirlpool of flustered emotions, threatening to burst through her skull with every aching throb her bump was sending out.

"It's okay, Weiss," Winter comforted, rubbing the back of her tiny head gently. "It's alright now. You can cry, Weiss. Don't hold it in."

_Because when you grow up, you're not allowed to cry anymore._

The rest of her sentence unsaid, Winter waited patiently as Weiss quietly sobbed all over her clothes. Even when she was crying, Weiss refused to bawl like the little kid she was when in front someone else. For reasons Winter could not fathom, her little sister had a solid wall around her heart, completely shutting it away from the outside world. Even though she was just five.

"Sis, I…" Weiss pulled herself away from Winter, looking at her sister with a pair of large, blue eyes covered in a sheen of fresh tears.

Her sister's actions had always been a mystery to her, but in the simple few words that followed, Winter understood why. With a single sentence, Weiss had managed to flip her entire world upside down:

"I think I'm a Faunus."

* * *

Weiss stared at the death trap hovering ominously above her, ready to roll out of the way the moment it showed any signs of falling down and crushing her.

The day had already been plenty awful, what with being paired up with a dolt and then ending up in the same team as her. To make things worse, said dolt had become her leader. Oh, and there was that unfortunate snag where she got in her way in the forest and _blew them up in front of the school gates on the first day._ The last thing she needed was a safety hazard of a bunk bed that could flatten her at any time.

As a kid, Weiss had always wanted to have a bunk bed. It might have meant she could no longer cry her heart out at night without fear of discovery, but at least she would not be alone. The idea had been so appealing at the time, but now Weiss found it ridiculous how she could have wanted something so suicidal.

But even so, she was at Beacon. She was not home, and she was not doing whatever she was supposed to over what she wanted to. All her life, she had to live with every option made for her, with every path planned out perfectly, be it by her father or by her sister. Now, she could finally do whatever she wanted, and she had full rein as long as her secret remained… well, a secret.

The bed above her gave off a faint creaking noise, indicating that Ruby was tossing and turning about in her sleep. That idiot would be the death of her, one way or another.

Sighing exasperatedly, Weiss closed her eyes and was greeted instantly by a blissful darkness. Her first few days here had been nothing but trouble, but she could not bring herself to mind that much; after all, she was much more free here than ever before.

With a faint smile dancing on her lips, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Weiss could not remember what she had been dreaming about, but it was probably something pleasant. Even if it had been a bad dream, it would still be relatively pleasant compared to the eruption of sound that was Ruby's whistle.

Weiss had a habit of sleeping in, but that was completely justified; she always had trouble falling asleep at night, so when she finally did it would always be at a late hour. As such, she was definitely not lazy, and it was perfectly acceptable for her to wake up a little later than everyone else. Even if a wake-up call had been in order, that wretched silver embodiment of cacophony was certainly _not_.

Needless to say, it was another day with a horrible start. It certainly did not help matters when, despite all the ability and talent she had demonstrated, Professor Port still refused to acknowledge the fact that she would have made a better leader for Team RWBY.

In all honesty, Weiss had little interest in being a leader. She had simply wanted to stand out – to look amazing in front of everyone else – so no one would suspect she had something to hide. Instead of being discreet and constantly staying out of sight, she wanted to be in the spotlight; after all, would a person with a dark secret willingly take up important roles or volunteer to showcase their abilities?

However, she still did feel a little dejected at the lack of recognition; it meant that she was inferior, and was simply lacking in terms of ability. Weiss was certainly not the best, and was not conceited enough to think otherwise. But even so, she had wanted a little more.

_Maybe I'm just not meant to be here._

Haunted by that thought, Weiss trudged back to her team's dorm room. Ever since she first found out about her Faunus half, she had thought that one sentence over and over. Even though the scale of 'here' was now smaller, the impact it had on the young Huntress-in-training was by no means reduced.

And she might have continued thinking that way, if not for a certain red-cloaked dolt.

Staring at the bottom of Ruby's bed, unable to fall asleep as usual, Weiss took a few moments to realize that Ruby was still awake, with a small light on her bed. There was hardly any flipping of pages, so she was definitely not reading. Thinking that the dolt had probably just dozed off, Weiss got up softly with the intention of switching that light off for her. Just then, a soft noise made her stop.

It was quiet, but it sounded like writing. Straining her ears, Weiss could make out the faint but unmistakable sound of pencil scratching against paper, as well as the occasional sharp noise when a crinkle was made. Then there was the ever-so-often groan from Ruby, followed by a soft yet frustrated sigh.

She was studying. As much as she found it difficult to believe, Weiss could not deny the facts: her leader – her loud, goofy, childish leader – was actually working hard.

While Weiss had been wallowing in self-pity, Ruby had been trying her best. Even though she was two years younger, Ruby was actually working harder than Weiss was. Even though she belonged here even less than Weiss did, Ruby was making the effort to fit in.

_What am I doing?_

Scolding herself mentally, Weiss shook her head of those pointless worries. Right now, her duty was not to be the best, but to support this young girl with her wealth of experience. As a teammate and as a partner, she could not just sit around moping while her leader did all the work.

"Just know that I am going to be the best teammate you will ever have."

That night, Weiss went to sleep with a smile on her face, the words she had said engraved into her mind like an earnest promise.

* * *

**Figured I should address some canon scenes here. Hopefully it didn't turn out too terribly. **

**Feel free to leave a review, and I'll see you next chapter where I'll start on non-canon stuff!**


	3. 03 - In her Eyes

The darkness had always been comforting. The lack of illumination – even if it did not affect her much – had always granted her solace, if only because it hid her terrified expression from the rest of the world.

Tonight, it bared its fangs against her like a ravenous beast.

Panting, Weiss gripped the front of her pajamas with icy fingers. Even though the night was by no means cold, her whole body still shook uncontrollably, assaulted by a strange, overbearing chill.

She had thought those nightmares were a thing of the past. She had prayed that they would leave her alone, but they never let her have her way; unrelenting, they would rear their ugly heads over and over again, haunting her in the dark – her only place of recluse.

"Calm down, Weiss…" she whispered shakily, trying and failing to reassure herself. "Ca-"

Eyes suddenly widening in shock, Weiss froze. She had believed herself to be safe since she was under the cover of night, but she had forgotten something important: she was not back home, and she was sharing a room with her three teammates.

On top of that, one of them could see through the dark like she could.

Turning somewhat reluctantly towards said teammate's bed, Weiss cast a cautious glance towards the woman known as Blake Belladonna. Sure enough, the raven-haired Faunus was awake, and her bright hazel eyes were staring in her direction.

An awkward silence descended, hanging in the air as Weiss and Blake continued their staring contest, with neither side saying anything or breaking the eye contact. The heiress had no idea what to say or do, which was shameful for a Schnee, but now was not the time for such trivial worries.

Why was Blake looking at her like that? Did she say something weird in her sleep? Did she… spill some secrets she wasn't supposed to?

"Bad dream?" Blake asked, breaking the silence with a hushed question.

"Y-yeah," Weiss stammered, breaking out in cold sweat.

"What was it about?" Blake went on, getting up and sitting on the edge of her bed.

_You guys found out about me, and detested me for it._

The reply almost slipped out, but Weiss managed to force it back in time. If she actually said it, there would be no going back. She wouldn't be able to cover it up, and her life at Beacon would be over. She couldn't let it end here, all because of some stupid dream.

"O-oh, I just dreamt that I was falling," Weiss fibbed. "You know; it's one of those common ones that make you jerk awake… It's nothing to worry about. T-thanks, Blake."

Blake said nothing, continuing to look at Weiss with a stern expression on her face. Then, for no reason at all, the cat Faunus raised a hand, moving her fingers in weird motions.

"W-what're you doing?" Weiss asked, raising an eyebrow.

"So you _can_ see in the dark."

The world stopped, and time itself grinded to a halt. Weiss, unable to contain her shock, let it show openly on her face. Her whole body began trembling once more, this time far more violently than before. She tried to say something – anything – but nothing would come out; it was as though an invisible hand had wrapped its fingers around her throat, gripping it so tightly that no sound could be made.

The air around her grew thinner. She was having problems breathing, and her palpitations skyrocketed, leaving her helpless in the darkness she had once believed her ally. Her mind was a maelstrom of utter chaos, filled with panicked thoughts and frightened pleas, struggling to escape and ease her pain. She wanted to throw up, and it took all her remaining willpower to hold in the bile rising up her throat.

"W-what're you talking about?" she managed at last, even though her composure was completely lost. "I-I just wanted to know what you were doing up at this hour."

"Is that so," Blake stated plainly. "Don't worry about it; it's nothing. Go back to sleep."

And with that she lay back on her bed, pulling the sheets over her body and turning away. With her back to Weiss, there was no telling if she was really going back to sleep, but that was the least of her worries.

"Goodnight, Weiss," she said, her tone even.

"G-goodnight," Weiss replied, not moving from her sitting position. The ominous creaking of Ruby's bed reached her ears, seemingly mocking her current predicament. It slowly dissipated back into silence, leaving a minimal trace of its former presence, as though trying to remind her that it was still there. Not that it mattered to her right now; for once, Weiss was not concerned about the death trap her partner slept on.

For another reason altogether, Weiss did not sleep a single wink that night.

* * *

For the fifth time that morning, Weiss sighed. She wanted to believe that whatever happened last night had been a dream, but she was not that naïve; there was no taking back what she had said and done, and there was no denying what had already transpired.

Opening her mouth wide, the heiress absentmindedly began her daily inspection of her teeth. Normally, she would have taken extra care to make sure each and every tooth was not growing into a fang, but today she was just too preoccupied with her thoughts. Instead, her body simply went through the motions like clockwork, moving about in the same way as they usually would. When she was finally done, it felt like nothing had been accomplished whatsoever.

Sighing for the sixth time, Weiss unlocked the bathroom door and stepped out-

"Weiss?" Blake spoke up, leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest. "What were you doing in there?"

"O-oh, um…" Weiss fumbled with her words, unsure of what to say. Blake had not mentioned anything about last night, but the heiress was still unable to maintain her composure as she struggled to meet her teammate's eyes. "I-I was flossing my teeth."

"With fingernails?" Blake asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"I was… going to floss them, b-but then I remembered I ran out of floss," Weiss replied apprehensively.

"So you spent ten minutes looking for some?" Blake went on. Her eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into her hair, but Weiss left that detail alone.

"Y-yeah," Weiss answered. "Couldn't find any, though, so I gave up."

"I see," Blake said flatly, walking past her teammate and into the bathroom. "Oh, and one more thing. Weiss."

"W-what is it?" Weiss stammered, trying her best to look natural. Or neutral. Or whatever she was supposed to look like right now.

"You haven't been… making contact with another Faunus, have you?"

Weiss froze. Of all the things Blake could have said, she had not been expecting that one.

"Why do you ask me that?" she asked at last, managing to produce a proper sentence without stuttering.

"You... never mind," Blake sighed, shaking her head. "Forget about it."

And with that, she closed the door, ending the conversation right then and there.

Leaving Weiss thoroughly confused and white as sheet, Blake absentmindedly splashed some cold water on her face. It hardly cleared her head, and it certainly did nothing for her worries, but it kept her occupied.

She had almost said it. In front of the heiress of the Schnee empire, Blake had almost said something that would definitely have insulted Weiss's pride. Last night aside, this was simply inexcusable; to tell her she smelled strongly of Faunus was one thing, but it was another thing altogether to say what she had almost let slip:

That Weiss had smelled like her mother.

* * *

**Sorry for the short chapter; been a little busy as of late.**

**To clarify, the 'her mother' at the end was referring to Blake's mom. I didn't know how to make it less confusing in the end, so I left it as is. Sorry about that.**

**Anyway, I'll see you next chapter!**


	4. 04 - Save Me

**Hello and welcome to chapter 4!**

**I'm sure by now you already know the unfortunate news regarding Monty Oum, so I won't add on here. Hopefully this story will manage to cheer you up somewhat.**

* * *

"What's this about, Weiss?"

Paying her dolt of a leader no heed, Weiss steadied her breathing with well-practiced movements. It was almost a habitual thing now, which was starting to get on her nerves a little.

"I have something I need to tell you guys," she said at last, looking at her teammates. Naturally, they looked utterly bewildered, and Yang actually seemed somewhat amused. What was the blonde expecting?

"Well, don't keep us in suspense," Yang egged her on. "You know I don't like how you give us the _cold_ shoulder treatment."

Apparently satisfied with the brilliance of her incredibly terrible pun, the blonde brawler flashed Weiss a smug grin, completely unabashed by the lack of laughter. Eyes twitching, Weiss cleared her throat.

"W-well, it's something a little odd," she went on. "I-I've been meaning to tell you guys for some time now, but… I'm half-Faunus."

Nothing else was said, and nothing more was spoken. Faced with an uncomfortably tense silence following her words, Weiss refused to meet anyone's gaze. She had no idea what expressions they were wearing, or what thoughts were flashing through their minds, but she did not look up; she did not have the courage to look them in the eye anymore.

"Why did you keep it from us?"

Even without looking at her, Weiss could tell from her voice how deeply hurt Ruby was. The distinct quiver in her tone, and how her question lacked any of her usual goofiness – she was so shocked that she could not even maintain her usual self.

But what hurt the most – even more than Ruby's tone – had been that question.

She was unable to answer. She knew that she had no answer to give. No matter what she chose to say, it would just end up being another excuse. Despite being her partner, she had kept such an important secret from Ruby; what words could mend the gaping wound in her heart now?

"A half?" Blake sneered. "You're not even a proper Faunus? What a joke. So you're nothing more than a freak in the end."

Something was amiss.

"And to think we trusted her," Yang spat, disgust smeared all over her face. "We've been fighting with a monster all this while. We're lucky she didn't kill us in our sleep."

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

"You don't belong here, Miss Schnee," Ozpin said from behind her. "My school isn't a place for… _entities _such as yourself."

This world was twisted, warped in so many places she could not stop it at all. Everything was falling apart, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"We should dispose of her before she becomes a threat to us all," Goodwitch added. "I've received permission from the SDC; they said that she's no longer related to them in any way."

They turned. They stared. With hard, unflinching glares, they directed all their attention towards her. Towards the monster clad in white, claiming to be named 'Weiss Schnee'. Their gaze, cold and unforgiving, reflected her own terrified expression. In their eyes, she was nothing more than a freak, a monster. And Huntsmen and Huntresses only did one thing to monsters.

They exterminated them-

* * *

Drenched in cold sweat, Weiss bolted upright, bumping her head on the bottom of Ruby's bed in the process. Without time to care about the throbbing pain in her forehead, the white-haired heiress panted, unable to stop the violent shaking in her body.

Her ice-cold fingers tightened around her blanket, clutching it so tightly it might tear. But she did not care; it took too much effort just to keep the tears at bay as-is.

_What am I doing?_ she berated herself inside her head. _My nightm- dreams are becoming so real Yang's even making bad puns in them. Is it stress? Have I been studying too hard?_

Resting her forehead on her knees, Weiss inhaled deeply. It did nothing for her jackhammer-like palpitations, but what could? A nightmare like that was not something one just recovered from so easily.

"Weiss?"

Startled by the sudden voice, Weiss jumped, bumping her head again on the hard wood that was Ruby's bed. That thing was far too low for comfort, and one of these days it'd be the death of her. Though right now, there was a more pressing issue in front of her.

"W-why're you awake?" she asked the bobbing head of her leader and partner as it dangled upside down from the edge of her bed. "Shouldn't you be dreaming about cookies or something?"

"I don't need to dream about them," Ruby replied smugly, holding out a cookie. "I smuggled them from- I-I mean, they just appeared under my pillow! I-it must be Zwei, y'know? The glutton's always-"

"Ruby," Weiss said sternly, cutting across her innocent expression and horrible lying. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"I-I was studying…" Ruby mumbled. She couldn't see the lower half of her face, but Weiss was pretty sure she was pouting. "I figured I'd eat some cookies to keep myself awake, and, well…"

"You ended up having one too many and can't fall asleep?" Weiss sighed.

"Um, no…" Ruby looked away guiltily, dragging out the last syllable. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, whatever," Weiss grumbled, lying back on her bed. Her head still hurt, but she wasn't going to bother with chatting right now. "Just close your eyes and eventually-"

"Did you have a bad dream?" Ruby asked.

Weiss turned away from her, opting for the silent treatment. Just because she looked adorable did not mean that Ruby could just ask what she wanted and expected a proper reply every time. That was cheating of the highest order, and Weiss was not going to give in at all. Well, not anymore, anyway.

"I hate bad dreams," Ruby sighed, her voice overlapped with a series of creaking noises and the sound of rubbing fabric. "I used to have them a lot too."

Just as she began wondering what Ruby was doing, Weiss flinched. A pair of warm, soft hands had made their way around her waist, gently tightening themselves around her. She could feel a strange, unfamiliar warmth against her back, snuggling up against her comfortably. It didn't take long for her stunned brain to process that the culprit was Ruby, but by then it had already been too late.

"Then Yang started sleeping with me, and the nightmares went away," Ruby went on, her voice soft but her words loud against Weiss's ears. "She snores like a train, though, so you'll have to make do with me instead."

Her fingers, trembling feebly, reached for that warmth. Her body, shaking against the unworldly cold, longed for her comfort. However, before she could ever touch that source, Weiss stopped herself.

She did not deserve this warmth. She did not deserve her company. She did nothing to earn the gesture, the kindness, or those words. This was the girl she had deceived, and even now she placed her life in her hands. For all that she did, Weiss had no right to hold that hand.

"It's okay to be afraid, you know," Ruby whispered. "It just means you're a living person like everyone else."

_Don't be gentle to me._

"Someone great said this, didn't they? That 'courage isn't the absence of fear, but the overcoming of it' or something like that."

_Don't treat me nicely._

Her mind screamed, but her lips refused to move. Her brain was bursting with things she wanted to holler, but her throat was stuck. She had so much she wanted to say – to reject Ruby's goodwill – but Weiss's body refused to obey; instead, it just lay there, powerless, as it listened attentively to every word.

"I…"

When she finally gave in to her body's whims, Weiss found her own lips moving to form words. Her mind was no longer working, and her brain stopped thinking altogether, but she could hear her own voice, pouring out of her mouth like a prayer, beseeching to be heard.

"I'm afraid."

_I'm afraid of being rejected._

"I'm terrified."

_I'm terrified of being feared._

"I'm scared, Ruby."

_I'm scared of the monster that I am._

Without prying further into the meaning of her words, Ruby merely tightened her hold on Weiss, further enveloping the heiress with her warmth. She didn't need to know exactly what was going on, until Weiss felt the need to tell her.

"It's okay," she whispered. "We're here for you. I'm here. I won't go anywhere, so you don't have to be afraid anymore, Weiss.

"No matter what happens, I'll be there for you, okay?"

Two trails of white-hot liquid poured down her cheeks, staining the pillow beneath her head. Breathing became difficult, and her chest started to hurt. It was a sharp, constricting pain, and no matter what she did Weiss could not get rid of it.

"If I…" she managed, nearly choking from the effort. "If I have a secret I've been keeping from you all this time, will you be mad?"

_Save me._

"As long as you haven't been stealing my cookies, I'm fine," Ruby replied. She was definitely smiling while she said it, too.

_Please, save me._

"I have… something to tell you tomorrow," Weiss said. It may not have been the wisest choice to make, but she was going to go through with it. "I have something to tell everyone."

"I understand," Ruby replied. "Then for now, just close your eyes and try to sleep, alright?"

Despite the situation, Weiss could not help but smile, even if it was just a little. Tomorrow would come, and she would deal with it then, and even if she was to be hated, she would hold on to this warmth for as long as she could.

"That's my line, you dolt."


	5. 05 - Secret Unveiled

**Hello and welcome to chapter 5! So sorry for the wait; I've been gone for very long, but now that I've been discharged I'll be able to keep up the updates (couldn't type in the hospital). Again, sorry for the wait!**

* * *

Her eyes darted towards the door. If she could just find an opening – however slight it might be – she could make a dash for it. By the time they realized she was gone, she would be off the radar and perfectly hidden. They would never find her.

But first of all, she needed that opening.

She could feel her palms getting sweaty from the tension. Her stomach was fluttering with butterflies, moths and lord knows what – a terrible sensation to be having while she was supposed to be calm. Or at least trying to look it.

To call it 'being nervous' would be an understatement. Her head was spinning and she felt like throwing up, but since she could not, she was forced to bear the nausea until it subsided. If it subsided.

"Well, we all knew this day would come eventually."

The voice, familiar as it was, still sent shivers down her spine. Despite her brain's screams, her body still jerked around to face her interrogator, eyes strained on that serious looking face. And the huge weapon in her hands.

She briefly wondered if it would hurt if that sharp blade was to tear her head off. It would definitely be a painful process, but if she could die before the pain registered…

Who was she kidding? This was _her _she was thinking about. She'd be lucky if she didn't get butchered in the slowest and most agonizing way possible.

"So, Miss Schnee."

She swallowed. She both hated and feared that tone in equal measure, but kept it to herself; no point angering the woman more than she probably already have, if that was even possible.

"I want you to be perfectly honest with me."

Even though she was not asked to respond, she nodded so furiously her head almost fell off.

"Did you or did you not have sex with my sister?" Yang asked.

"Ye- Wait, WHAT?!" Weiss exclaimed, practically leaping out of her chair. She had been expecting something else entirely given the mood, but the question actually asked threw her off completely. Not that it mattered, since Yang's expression of pure rage seemed to eclipse everything anyway.

"Wait, no!" Weiss said hastily, trying to retract her previous mistaken answer. Crescent Rose had never looked scarier, and she had little faith in Yang's ability to hold back. "We didn't do… h-have… t-that!"

"Then why can't you say the word properly?" Yang demanded.

"Who on Remnant can?!" Weiss yelled back, her cheeks a faint shade of pink.

"Unless you've already had sex with her, you would be perfectly fine saying it!"

"For crying out loud, stop saying that word!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Weiss could see Ruby doing her best impression of her own cape, which was a rather brilliant crimson hue. If she had been in a joking mood, Weiss would probably have said she could be a chameleon Faunus. Or just a ripe tomato.

Blake, on the other hand, was massaging her temples while shaking her head in a clearly exasperated manner.

"Yang," the black-haired Faunus sighed. "At least put the scythe down first."

"Fine," Yang grumbled, setting Crescent Rose down against the wall before turning back to Weiss. "So how far did you go?"

"I only slept with her for one night!" Weiss said incredulously, before realizing how that must have sounded.

"You were right, Blake," Yang said, her expression stony with one eye twitching. "It'd be better to use my hands and choke her to death instead."

"Wait, no!" Weiss exclaimed. "I meant we just shared a bed for one night! That's it! Ruby Rose! Back me up!"

"Y-yes ma'am!" Ruby said, jumping at suddenly being called. Her face was still flaming red, which Weiss would normally be mad about if not for how adorable she looked. "T-that's right!"

"Ruby, if she took your virginity-" Yang began.

"Yang!" Ruby yelled. "Wait; what does 'vir'-"

"Weiss," Blake said suddenly, raising her voice. "What did you want to tell us?"

"W-what?" Weiss asked back, her flustered brain unable to process the question.

"I swear, Weiss, if you had sex with Ruby-"

"For crying out loud, Yang!" Weiss's face was burning with embarrassment. "I didn't have s- do THAT with her! I was going to tell you I'm a Faunus!"

"Good!" Yang declared, satisfied. "Wait; what?"

The room went dead silent for a few seconds, but those seconds crawled by like hours. Drowning in the utter lack of response, Weiss fidgeted uncomfortably as she waited them out, all while feeling their gaze digging deeply into her skin.

This was not the way she had expected things to go. She had worked up so much courage to tell them her secret, and now it just came out because she got agitated. So much for staying calm.

"Weiss…"

Ruby's voice, more like a gasp than anything, was the first thing she heard. Weiss did not even dare to look up at meet her eyes, for fear of what she might see. Instead, all she felt was a curious hand on her skirt-

Weiss had no idea she could scream like that, but she managed to surprise even herself with what emerged from her mouth. Covering her bottom through her skirt and positively livid with rage and shock, Weiss looked at her partner with a glare that could freeze magma.

"RUBY ROSE!" She shrieked. "What on Remnant do you think you're doing?!"

"I was just checking to see if you had a tail, that's all," Ruby replied innocently.

"I don't have a tail!" Weiss screamed.

"What about ears, then?" Yang asked, stroking the top of Weiss's head and by extension, her snow-white hair.

"I don't have ears, either!" Weiss denied, pushing the blonde away. Why were they treating this so lightly?

"Then what Faunus are you?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow. There was something off about her curiosity, but Weiss was too flustered to notice. "I don't see any particular… appendages."

"I'm… a half-Faunus," Weiss admitted. "I don't really know what animal I'm supposed to be, but I'm half human too, so that's probably why I don't have them…"

"So how do you know you're a Faunus?" Yang asked.

"I can see in the dark," Weiss replied slowly. "Not only that, I can… smell out other Faunus. Like Blake…"

"So you're a Faunus without the animal parts?" Ruby asked. "Wait, that means you knew Blake was a Faunus all along? And you… um…"

"Yes," Weiss answered, refusing to meet Blake's eyes. "I didn't know she was with the White Fang… I don't actually detest the Faunus themselves, just so you know. S-sorry," she added in a nearly inaudible mumble.

"Hey, aren't we going off-topic here?" Yang mentioned after a short pause. "Didn't Weiss have something important to tell us?"

"You're saying that _now_?" Blake asked.

"Now that you mention it, that's right," Ruby said, as though she had just remembered something very important. "What was the important thing you had to say, Weiss?"

"Huh?" it took a solid ten seconds for Weiss to respond to that question. Yang aside, was Ruby not paying attention to anything she said either? Was that a trait of their family or something?

"You said we'd be angry and everything, so it's something big right?" Ruby asked. "So what is it?"

"I-I just told you!" Weiss exclaimed. "I'm a half-Faunus!"

"Wait," Yang spoke up. "Was that it?"

"Yes!" Weiss replied, almost angrily. "Why aren't you the least bit surprised at all?"

"What's there to be surprised about?" Yang asked. "I mean, yeah, it's something new, but it's like finding out something about a new classmate isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" Surprisingly, it was Blake who asked that question and not Weiss.

"Hey, I wasn't that bothered by Blake's declaration," Yang shrugged. "I don't see why I should be bothered with yours."

"Yeah, same here," Ruby added. "I thought you were going to say you liked to kill puppies in your free time or something…"

"What?!" Weiss had already lost track of how many times she got sidetracked by her partner that day. "Why would I do that?!"

"Then we're all good!" Ruby declared, beaming widely. "Now that that's settled, let's go get some cookies!"

Without warning, Weiss's knees buckled, causing her to collapse onto the floor. As much as she tried, she just could not muster any power to her wobbly, jelly-like legs. Her body, filled with a sense of relief so profound it shook her being, stayed where it was, unwilling to move. Even in the face of her pride as the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, Weiss Schnee just continued to kneel there, as a soft, gradual sobbing slowly reached her ears.

All this while, after all that effort, she finally managed to tell them. After all that worrying, all that fearing, she finally conveyed her secret. Yet despite all that she had to go through, Weiss had not been rejected by any of them. Despite all the mental turmoil she had to endure, their acceptance was so easy and ready, a though it was not something serious at all. How could she have been ensnared by those fears all this time?

"W-Weiss?" Ruby asked, unable to comprehend what was going on. "W-what's wrong? Is it something I said?"

Of course it was. Because of her simple words, because of her ready acceptance, everything had changed. The very world she had been living in for so long instantly changed because of her words. How could it not be because of her words?

"Yes," she replied, smiling through her white-hot tears. "It has everything to do with what you said, you dolt.

"Thank you."


	6. 06 - Somewhere she calls home

**Aloha and welcome to chapter 6! **

**Full speed ahead!**

* * *

She stared blankly at the bottom of her partner's bed, lost in her thoughts. Her night vision had never bothered her before, but tonight it was grating on her nerves.

The events during the day played out in her head, each scene lucid and every word crystal clear. Why she was so disturbed by them, even she did not know.

Blake sighed. She had been a part of the White Fang. She had robbed, deceived, destroyed, and betrayed. She had done all that and so much more, so why should a little secret like Weiss's matter? She had lied about being a Faunus herself, so why was she getting mad at Weiss?

Turning her head, the raven-haired girl look at her half-Faunus teammate. Instead of fidgeting as though she had lice shoved down her pajamas like she usually would, Weiss was sleeping peacefully – for the first time since they started sharing this room.

_Of course she'd sleep well_, Blake thought. _Her worst fears were addressed after all._

Just then, a ball of fire ignited in her chest, fueling her anger once more. It was all directed at Weiss, urging Blake to choke her life out.

_What's wrong with me?_

Curling up into a ball under the bedsheets, Blake sighed. She wanted to cut something up, or just do something to vent all her frustration, but there was no outlet. There was nothing she could do except lay there and hope that sleep would eventually-

"Problem sleeping, kitty cat?"

Blake had always fancied herself the silent type, which was fortunate since due to her lack of screaming, Ruby and Weiss did not stir from their sleep. And it allowed her to smother Yang with her pillow without anyone stopping her from committing homicide.

"Mm! Mm-mmph!" Yang's yells were rendered muffled and incomprehensible by the pillow, as her arms thrashed about wildly.

"You have five seconds to explain yourself," Blake whispered into her ear. "And since your life depends on it, I'd choose my words wisely if I were you."

"Geez, Blake," Yang whispered back as Blake removed the instrument of her imminent demise. "I don't have nine lives you- mmph!"

"Strike two, Yang," Blake warned as she removed the pillow again after a good, agonizing ten seconds. "Three strikes and I'm pulling out every last strand of hair you have."

"I-saw-that-you-were-having-trouble-sleeping-and-I-thought-I'd-help-you-out," Yang replied swiftly and seriously, which made Blake wonder why she did not use that threat more often.

"What?" Blake asked.

"I saw that you were having trouble sleeping and I thought I'd help you out," Yang repeated, slower this time.

"I'm not having trouble, Yang." Blake sighed, laying back down onto her bed. "I just… have a lot on my mind."

"About Weiss?"

Blake stiffened.

"You're easy to read, Blakey," Yang chuckled.

"Fine," Blake sighed again, giving in to her partner's smug grin. "You're right; I was thinking about what she said earlier."

"And you got all frustrated because Weiss didn't need to worry about hiding any Faunus appendages?" Yang asked.

"… Yes," Blake admitted. "I know I shouldn't be, but… I just…"

"You've spend your whole life hiding from the world," Yang finished for her. "You had to cover up for the sake of fitting in, simply because you had another set of ears. But Weiss didn't need to be afraid of that, since she didn't stand out physically. You're jealous of her because despite being a Faunus, she never once had to hide, right?"

"… I don't know whether to applaud you or knock your teeth out," Blake mumbled.

"But I'm right, aren't I?" Yang asked cheekily. Blake was unsure if she was doing it on purpose, but the blonde seemed to be smiling not because she could not help herself, but because she knew Blake was looking. It was infuriating either way. "I'm always right."

Blake, being unable to reply, simply turned away from her and settled for exposing her back to the blonde, in a futile attempt to end the conversation then and there.

"But you know," Yang whispered, wrapping her arms around Blake's waist, causing the latter to flinch. "It's not like she had it that much better than you did."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blake hissed, completely forgetting about prying away her hands.

"Think about it," Yang replied patiently. "She's a half. You're a Faunus. Even if you weren't accepted by society, you had people who shared and understood your pain. Other Faunus, the White Fang… They gave you a place to belong. But as a half, what about Weiss?

Blake kept silent.

"She may not have grown up facing discrimination," Yang went on. "But she was still living with expectations befitting a Schnee heiress. She had to face that along with the solitude of possibly being the only one of her kind in the world. Who on Remnant could she turn to for help or comfort?"

Again, Blake did not reply. Yang tightened her hug in response, smiling at her partner.

"She was alone, Blake," she whispered. "More so than you, I'm afraid. I can't even imagine how much courage she had to muster just to tell us the secret she's been hiding for all this time. She's suffered with her own identity too, Blake. So all the more reason we – and you, especially – need to help make this place somewhere she feels like she belongs, right?"

"I…"

Blake could not believe that she was rendered speechless. She – Blake Belladonna, ex-member of the infamous White Fang – was unable to come up with a response. And her adversary in question was Yang of all people.

"You're right," she said at last. As infuriating as it was, the blonde won this round. Even if she hated to admit it, Blake was not a sore loser. "That was childish of me. There. I said it."

"But do you mean it?" Yang pushed her luck, even though her days were already numbered; in the dark, Blake could totally rip her throat out without anyone knowing. "Well, so long as you understand, it's all good. Any other troubles preventing you from sleeping?"

Blake resisted rolling her eyes, then remembered that Yang could not see her expression anyway. She had a ton of problems on her mind, but she was not going to just spill them so easily like a kid (even if she was still a teenager).

"Well, if there was one, it would be that Weiss has this annoying smile on her face," Blake pointed out.

Weiss, having been busted, swiftly turned away from Blake, causing Yang to chuckle. Blake chuckled along, albeit half-heartedly, wishing that the topic would never come up again.

And, for the rest of the night, it did not resurface.

* * *

"Weiss."

Weiss, for all her supposed composure, jumped like she was Ruby caught with her hand in a cookie jar. Keeping her gaze away from Blake's eyes, the heiress swallowed.

"Y-yes?" she asked apprehensively.

"I'm not going to eat you, you know," Blake reminded her. "You got a minute?"

"Y-yeah, sure," Weiss replied. "What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you," Blake said slowly, then paused. Was it really alright to ask this? "From the first time I saw you, there was this one thing on my mind…"

Weiss gulped, giving her teammate a slow nod. It was a sign for her to go on, but the words had already left Blake's mouth by the time she saw it:

"Who was… your mother?"


End file.
